Paige Bueckers has been given plenty of support from former Stanford star Cameron Brink ahead of March Madness, who has nothing but admiration for the projected No. 1 pick.
The Huskies are on a six-game winning streak heading into the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, with one final matchup to come against Marquette on Sunday. UConn is 17-0 in the Big East Conference, but 27-3 overall and currently holds the No. 5 seed.
Brink’s support has a deeper meaning, as she admires the injury problems that Bueckers has overcome throughout her college career. Bueckers was ruled out for her junior season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the same injury that cut short Brink’s rookie WNBA season.
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Bueckers is looking to win the national championship in her final season, and Brink is rooting for her to achieve something she never could at Stanford. In an interview with USA Today Sports, Brink said: “Definitely, I am rooting for Paige, my girl Paige.
“Because I just admire the journey she has been on. We’re both ACL girlies, so we know what it’s like to recover from injury.”
Bueckers managed to bounce back and, after fully recovering, she averaged 21.9 points in 2023-24 and led UConn to the Final Four, losing narrowly to Iowa who had Caitlin Clark at the time. This season, Bueckers is averaging 18.6 points, and Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma believes that she’s better than ever after returning from the brutal injury.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma believes that Paige Bueckers is better since returning from a torn ACL (
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Getty)
“This is the best she’s ever been. The strongest she’s ever been. The fittest she’s ever been,” Auriemma said after Bueckers was back to full fitness. “This is the most time she has spent working on her body, her mind, you know, just taking care of herself.
“I think she’s way ahead and maybe that’s what the year off did. It showed her if you want a long career, this is how you’re going to have to go about it from here on out. Injuries or no injuries, it doesn’t matter.”
Brink understands exactly what Bueckers went through, as her first WNBA season ended after just 15 games. Brink was selected second overall behind Caitlin Clark in the 2024 WNBA Draft as she joined the Los Angeles Sparks, but tore her ACL on June 18, 2024, during a 79-70 loss against the Connecticut Sun.
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After nine months of rehabilitation, Brink is recovering well and is expected to return for the 2025 WNBA season. Like Bueckers, she hopes that the experience will benefit her moving forward. “I saw this quote the other day. It was like, ‘I’ve definitely met the lowest version of myself this year, but I’ve also met the strongest version of myself.'” Brink told Women’s Health. “I didn’t let my trajectory stop.”
With Bueckers expected to go first overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft, there was a possibility that she could become teammates with Brink
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